Quality of Employment Survey, 1972-1973: Version 1

Abstract

This study contains data on the working conditions of 1,455 workers aged 16 and older who were working for pay for 20 or more hours per week in the United States in the period 1972-1973. This survey is the second undertaken by the investigators to provide an overview of working conditions in the American labor force. The aims of this survey and many of the questions that were asked were comparable to those of the related collection, SURVEY OF WORKING CONDITIONS, 1969-1970 (ICPSR 3507). Among the major aims of this survey were: (1) assessment of the frequency and severity of work-related problems experienced by employed people in general and by major demographic and occupational subgroups, (2) identification of major demographic or occupational groups that were most affected by these problems, (3) development of valid measures of job satisfaction suitable for use with samples of workers in heterogenous occupations and under a variety of conditions, (4) assessment of the impact of working conditions upon the well-being of workers, especially their physical and mental well-being, and (5) establishment of normative statistics that might permit other investigators to compare their data from more limited subsamples of workers with national norms. The major measures used in both surveys were the frequency and severity of labor standards problems, the quality of employment indicators that were shown to be predictors of job satisfaction, the job satisfaction indices themselves, and the ratings of important job facets. Respondents were asked questions about many facets of their job situations and other areas of their lives that might be affected by their jobs in order to assess the impact of work on them. Questions included job tension, security, physical health, job satisfaction, and financial well-being. A series of questions regarding job expectations were also asked. Additional questions probed respondents' feelings about their relationship with their supervisors and their overall contentment with their jobs and with life in general. This survey differs from the earlier survey in the greater emphasis that was placed on questions related to respondents' physical health, drinking habits, and career development. The structured interview schedule contained both closed and open-ended questions. Many of the open-ended questions were directed at estimating the frequency and type of labor standards problems, such as those with unions, discrimination, physical working conditions, wages, and work schedules. Demographic variables provide information on age, sex, race, education, and income.